mert

An iTerm 3-compatible window, tab, and pane manager.

Installation

npm install -g mert

Usage

mert init [type]   # Create new .mertrc file. Options: global or local
mert start [name]  # Start project by name or by specifying file path (defaults to .mertrc in cwd)

Overview

mert is a simple command line tool for managing your windows, tabs, and pane configurations for iTerm 3 and iTerm 2. A little yaml config file (called the .mertrc file) along with some JXA (Javascript + Applescript), you can have your iTerm environment up and running in no time.

mert uses a combination of a "global" file at ~/.mertrc and/or one in your current directory to spin up your iTerm environment.

Examples

mert supports window, tab, and pane management. Examples live inside of ./tests/examples, so that's a great place to start.

• Panes
• Tabs & Panes
• Windows, Tabs, & Panes

Take the following two .mertrc files:

Global Config

# ~/.mertrc
foo:
  root: ~/code/foo
  layout:
    -
      - echo "Row 1, Pane 1"
      - echo "Row 1, Pane 2"
    -
      - echo "Row 2, Pane 1"

Local Config

# /Users/brian/code/bar/.mertrc
layout:
  -
    - echo "Row 1, Pane 1 in bar"
    - echo "Row 1, Pane 2 in bar"
  -
    - echo "Row 2, Pane 1 in bar"

Running the following:

mert start foo

would result in the following iTerm window, each command running in ~/code/foo:

+-------------------------------------------+
| "Row 1, Pane 1"     | "Row 1, Pane 2      |
|                     |                     |
|---------------------|---------------------|
| "Row 2, Pane 2"     | "Row 2, Pane 2      |
|                     |                     |
+---------------------|---------------------+

Conversely, running:

cd /Users/brian/code/bar/.mertrc
mert start

Would spin up the .mertrc file within the parent directory.

Checkout the demo below:

Split Strategy

By default mert adopts a vertical-first split strategy. This behavior can be changed by explicitly setting the split_strategy option to 'horizontal' in the .mertrc file.

Take for example the following .mertrc:

layout:
  -
    - echo "Row 1, Pane 1"
  -
    - echo "Row 2, Pane 1"
    - echo "Row 2, Pane 2"

This would result in the following iTerm window:

+-------------------------------------------+
| "Row 1, Pane 1"                           |
|                                           |
|---------------------|---------------------|
| "Row 2, Pane 2"     | "Row 2, Pane 2      |
|                     |                     |
+---------------------|---------------------+

Whereas a .mertrc with the split_strategy configuration set, as shown here:

split_strategy: "vertical"
layout:
  -
    - echo "Col 1, Pane 1"
  -
    - echo "Col 2, Pane 1"
    - echo "Col 2, Pane 2"

would produce an iTerm window like the one below:

+---------------------|---------------------+
| "Col 1, Pane 1"     | "Col 2, Pane 1      |
|                     |                     |
|                     |---------------------|
|                     | "Col 2, Pane 2      |
|                     |                     |
+---------------------|---------------------+

Launch Strategy

By default mert will start a new iTerm window and launch your layout into it. You can choose to launch your layout into a new tab, or into the current pane, instead by using the root-level launch_strategy option.

See Tab Launch Strategy and In-Place Launch Strategy for an example.

Profiles

By default mert will use the Default iTerm profile. You can use a different profile for your layout by adding the root-level profile option.

To use a different profile, set the profile configuration on the .mertrc file:

profile: "MyProfile"
layout:
  -
    - echo "Col 1, Pane 1"
  -
    - echo "Col 2, Pane 1"
    - echo "Col 2, Pane 2"

Testing

npm run test

License

Released under the MIT License.

Questions?

Brought to you by eggplanet.

Contributors

• @brianmgonzalez
• @michaelmoussa
• @ghosh
• @juancaldera